When Marci came in her hopelessness was hard to break through.  Her food stamps had been cut due to an across the board cut and she recently was cut off from WIC assistance when her son turned five years old.  Her sister, who has mental illess was now living with her, and Marci was finding it hard to make ends meet.  Her own ability to work part time and attend classes so she could better herself was proving to be impossible to sustain. 
 Living on a shoestring and wondering how she was going to pay her rent made her unable to sleep at night or focus on her work during the day.  A Jewish Family Services (JFS) social worker told her about the "Neighbor 2 Neighbor" program that could help pay her rent, and funding for food which would help free up her other resources.  At first, Marci looked at the social worker as if she were from another planet. After speaking together and explaining the program and how it would help, Marci was amazed that this program existed.  She had looked like a wilted flower when she walked into JFS, but now she projected the appearance of a flower in bloom.  Her whole mood changed and she looked as if she could resume her life.  She was grateful beyond words, knowing that her rent would be taken care of for that month and that she would not have to worry about feeding her family.